Billionaires’ wealth more than doubles in 10 years, says Swiss bank UBS
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Worldwide, tech billionaires’ wealth tripled from US$788.9 billion in 2015 to US$2.4 trillion in 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
ZURICH - Billionaires have seen their combined wealth shoot up 121 per cent over the past decade to US$14 trillion (S$18.7 trillion), Swiss bank UBS said on Dec 5, with tech billionaires’ coffers filling the fastest.
Switzerland’s biggest bank, which is among the world’s largest wealth managers, said the number of dollar billionaires increased from 1,757 to 2,682 over the past 10 years, peaking in 2021 with 2,686.
The 10th edition of UBS’ annual Billionaire Ambitions report, which tracks the wealth of the world’s richest people, found that billionaires have comfortably outperformed global equity markets over the past decade.
The report documents “the growth and investment of great wealth, as well as how it’s being preserved for future generations and used to have a positive effect on society”, said Mr Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients at UBS global wealth management.
Between 2015 and 2024, total billionaire wealth increased by 121 per cent from US$6.3 trillion to US$14 trillion - while the MSCI AC World Index of global equities rose 73 per cent.
The wealth of tech billionaires increased the fastest, followed by that of billionaire industrialists.
Worldwide, tech billionaires’ wealth tripled from US$788.9 billion in 2015 to US$2.4 trillion in 2024.
“In earlier years, the new billionaires commercialised e-commerce, social media and digital payments; more recently they engineered the generative AI boom, while also developing cyber-security, fintech, 3D printing and robotics,” UBS said.
The report found that since 2020, the global growth trend had been slowed due to consolidation among China’s billionaires.
From 2015 to 2020, billionaire wealth grew globally at an annual rate of 10 per cent, but growth has plunged to 1 per cent since 2020.
Chinese billionaire wealth more than doubled from 2015 to 2020, rising from US$887.3 billion to US$2.1 trillion, but has since fallen back to US$1.8 trillion.
However, North American billionaire wealth has risen 58.5 per cent to US$6.1 trillion since 2020, “led by industrials and tech billionaires”.
Meanwhile, billionaires are relocating
The heirs and philanthropic causes of baby boomer generation billionaires are set to inherit an estimated US$6.3 trillion over the next 15 years, UBS said. AFP
